This easy, delectable and comforting Kerala style Potato Stew or Ishtew is made with potatoes, coconut milk, shallots or pearl onions, and some basic herbs, spices. You can have it in breakfast with appam or dosa or as a lunch or dinner.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 25 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Breakfast, Main Course
  • Cuisine: Kerala, South Indian

Ingredients

  • 250 grams potatoes (or 3 to 4 medium-size potatoes or 8 small potatoes, peeled, chopped or diced)
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • ½ cup pearl onions (- thinly sliced, or use shallots or onions)
  • 1 tej patta ((Indian bay leaf), small-sized, optional)
  • 1 inch ginger (- peeled & julienned)
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns (- crushed)
  • 2 cloves (- crushed)
  • 1 green chilli (- slit or sliced, optional)
  • 1 sprig curry leaves (or 10 to 12 curry leaves)
  • 2 cups water (or 2 cups thin coconut milk or lite coconut milk)
  • 1 cup Coconut Milk ((Thick) or canned coconut milk)
  • salt (as required)

Method

  1. Take 1 teaspoon whole black pepper and 2 cloves in a mortar-pestle. Crush coarsely. Keep aside.
  2. Heat 2 tablespoons coconut oil in a pan.
  3. Add ½ cup thinly sliced pearl onions or shallots or onions, 1 small tej patta, ginger juliennes, 10 to 12 curry leaves and 1 green chilli - slit (optional).
  4. Also add the crushed black pepper and cloves.
  5. Sauté the onions on low to medium-low heat till they soften and turn translucent. Do not brown them. Remember to stir the onions at regular intervals till they become translucent.
  6. Then add chopped potatoes and mix them with the onions and spices.
  7. Now add 2 cups water or thin coconut milk. Season with salt as required.
  8. Cover the pan with its lid and simmer on a medium-low to medium heat till the potatoes are cooked and are fork tender. In between do check and stir while the potatoes are cooking.
  9. Simmer till the potatoes have softened. The potatoes need to be cooked well, but do not overcook the potatoes.
  10. Keep the heat to a low and add 1 cup thick coconut milk.
  11. Mix very well and gently heat through for a minute or two. Do not heat too much or else the coconut milk can separate.
  12. Serve potato stew with appams, idiyappams, soft dosa or ghee rice or cumin rice. You can also have it with Indian flatbreads like roti or plain paratha or lachha paratha.
  13. Refrigerate any leftover stew and use it up in one day.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.